Re: This lady needs references for surgery fast.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'd love to answer your questions. You can ask anything, I'm an open book

most of the time. LOL

I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat! It's one of the best things

I've ever done for myself. I had my surgery in High Point, NC. Dr. Rutledge had

just opened the practice at the hospital there and I was the 4th patient to

have the surgery in that hospital.

Sorry I don't live near in Florida. But you can email me any time or if you

want to call I'll be glad to give you my phone number.

I am 54, have 2 grown children and have been married for 28 years. I wish I

had the surgery sooner more than anything!

I hate to paint a rosy picture. There are things that gave me pause the

first few months after the surgery. One was how permanent the changes to your

body are. But I usually have " buyers remorse " so that wasn't unusual for me. LOL

I had not realized how much of a friend I thought food was to me. When you

are limited in your intake, you miss being able to spend more time with your so

called friend, although that friend had given me diabetes, high blood

pressure, a possibility of shorter life span, problems with arthritis and leg

and

hip joints that were hurting when I walked for exercise. It's like all vices

or over indulgences we have in our life though. What we think brings us joy,

if indulged too freely, can bring more pain than pleasure.

Hope this helps. Be patient with others, it takes a while to reply to all

the email requests. Send out more until you get your references. There are some

very helpful people on this site!

Suzanne H.

[Guest guest]

This lady needs references for surgery fast.

> Thank you so much for answering my e-mail. Out of 6 that I sent out,

yours

> was the only one that I got a response to. I have just a few questions.

You

> can ignore those you do not wish to answer. Would you do this again? It

sounds

> to me like you think any discomfort was worth it. Where did you have

your

> surgery? I'm hoping to have mine done outside of Lake Wales, Fl. Do you

live in

> the Tampa area? My folks live in Tarpon Springs and I pass through Tampa

on my

> way to their home. If I can get the money together to have this done,

I'd

> love to talk to you. Thanks again! Jan

>

> jhtoome@...

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, Miriam here..

I will write a little about my experience and if you wish you can email me

direct.

I had my surgery July 1, 2003. I just had my one year anniversary. It

really doesn't seem like a year but then again what is a year.

I started out with 250lbs. I searched and searched till I stumbled over this

website. What a great day that was. I knew right away this was what I was

looking for.

I had the surgery done by Dr. Rutledge wonderful person all around. I was the

last one for surgery that day. I think that has been the only drawback.

" ANTICIPATION " .

When I was waking up from surgery I felt a tremendous pain in my chest. I

remember whispering " pain " and pooff be gone. That was the extend of my pain. I

think the biggest thing is getting in all the gatarade to keep up your energy

and keeping from dehydrating. SO IMPORTANT 'SODIUM'.

Follow instructions for the different eating stages and you will be good.

Eat slowly, chew, chew and make smart choices and you will never regret this

decision.

I have not for one day said " what did I do " . I started out a size 20 pants,

3xl in blouses. Know I am a size 8 pants and Large and some Mediums in blouse.

I don't own a dress yet. I will be shopping for one soon for a wedding I'll

be going to.

I can eat just about anything, but in small portions. Except really greasy

foods and fresh bread. Pasta and rice has to be very soft. The first few months

I stayed on lactose milk. But know I can tolerate 1%. A little bit of

icecream. No soda...No coffee...

I am now thinking " tummy tuck " I could probable use surgery on my Arms, butt,

Inner thighs but for know Tummy tuck will do. Lets not get crazy...

Would I do it again. " IN A NEW YORK MINUTE " .

7/1/03

250/156/150 (TUMMY TUCK WILL GET ME THERE)

DR. R IN STATESVILLE NC

[Guest guest]

Hi All!

Saw this request and wanted to help out so here is my MGB story as contact

information for anyone that needs it.

Contact information for whoever needs it….

My name is ita Green, I am 47 years old and had my surgery on April 6,

2004 in Joplin, MO under the skilled hands of Dr. E. Hargroder. My highest

weight was 244.5 lbs. with a BMI of 39.3 prior to surgery, the day of surgery

I weighed in at 241 lbs. and at about 4 months out I weigh 196 lbs.

I realize that I have not been a post-op very long but I would like to help

others out that are struggling with their own weight and health challenges like

I have.

Prior to my MGB surgery, I struggled with my weight since giving birth to my

two wonderful children which was almost 19 years ago. I had tried numerous

weight and exercise programs with good success initially but as soon as I

deviated from the program(s) the weight quickly returned with more additional

pounds.

( Lean Bodies, Body For Life, Phen Fen,…) Like many of you reading this post,

I noticed that with the combination of age and additional weight came negative

health issues. Having a strong family history of diabetes, stroke, cancer,

hypertension, arthritis, .. I came to realize that I was well on to my way of

falling victim to these issues. Over the past 5 years or so I have been

fighting the battle of hypertension, arthritis, incontinence, and chronic

sinusitis

with little relief. On my last check up with my PCP I was informed that if I

did not find a way to get my weight off and keep it off I was well on my way to

having type 2 diabetes. I was already on 2 different blood pressure

medications as well as medications for my chronic sinusitis and was also

informed that I

should be given yet a 3rd blood pressure medication. I felt like I was on a

downward health spiral with very little hope.

One of the biggest frustrations for me was the issue of denial as to how much

my weight was impacting my life. Who really wants to think about arthritis

and weight being the reason ones back and legs hurt while walking, climbing

stairs, or that weight can cause shortness of breath on exertion Let alone the

frustration and embarrassment of having difficulty fitting comfortably in an

airplane seat or in a booth at a restaurant. ly, the personal hygiene

issues

were also becoming more of a problem, who really enjoys sweating so badly that

they leave a ring of sweat showing where they sat???

Frustrated and frankly scared for my declining health I began praying for

some direction to find some weight loss tool that would help me overcome my

weight problems and gain my health back. Upon the recommendation of a friend

that

had recently had the MGB procedure, and having great results, I decided to

research the possibility of having the MGB myself. After a lot of prayer,

discussion with my husband as well as discussion with my friend that underwent

the MGB

surgery in December of 2003 I decided to get serious and go for it.

The biggest blessing and challenge was the patient packet requirements. I

love learning, but must admit, at times the packet seemed overwhelming. Now,

after having had the surgery, I am extremely thankful for all the time and

effort

that we are required to put in toward becoming a well educated patient and

MGBer. I am thankful that we were given the challenge of learning about the

various forms of weight loss surgery, all the pro’s and con’s and expected

to

write essays about what we understood each issue to mean for our life. And I am

extremely thankful for each of the MGBer’s that shared their contact

information

with me so that I could have the MGB.

Needless to say, I decided to have the surgery so I completed the packet. I

realized that the next big challenge would be gaining my PCP’s support. My PCP

is a wonderful physician but tends to be pretty conservative so I wasn’t too

sure as to what his response would be but I knew that I had to try. To my

surprise, he was totally supportive of me having the MGB surgery. We discussed

the

procedure, my health issues and the need for me to get my weight off as soon

as possible. (That was a huge answer to prayer!!!!) Then I discovered that it

takes quite a bit of time to get into a psychologist and found that I could

only make an appointment for late April or early May 2004. I asked to be put on

a

cancellation list. To my delight I received a call the day that I had my

complete physical with my PCP saying that I could have the cancellation for that

day. That went well, and it was approximately 1 week later that I was able to

send in my packet to Clos and set my surgery date for April 6, 2004.

I must tell you all that Dr. Hargroder, his staff, and the hospital in

Joplin, MO were wonderful as well as all of the post-ops that were kind enough

to be

contacts for me. They were very attentive to details and care and projected a

calmness that made the entire MGB process easier. I was 3rd on the list for

surgery that day and my surgery lasted about 40-50 min. I experienced very

little pain or discomfort following the surgery. The morning after I had a

little

bit of nausea but after a little medication it went away. I was able to get up

and walk around the hospital floor on my own and with my littermates within a

couple of hours of being returned to my hospital room and have been doing

great since.

Would I recommend this surgery to others like myself struggling with health

issues caused or exacerbated by their weight? Absolutely! Would I recommend Dr.

Hargroder doing their surgery – you bet!

Since my surgery almost two weeks ago, I have noticed a big difference in my

energy level, my sleep has been improving and I am anticipating being able to

stop using my CPAP machine within the next month or so. I don’t seem to have

the pain that I had going up and down stairs or even the shortness of breath or

the chest tightness from my hypertension. So far, I am still on stage 1 of my

diet and have not had the gas issues that others have discussed, but, will

monitor foods as I enter the next two diet stages very carefully to see how my

new stomach responds.

To me, having the MGB is one of the greatest tools for gaining back a healthy

life style. I chose the surgery because I wanted to gain back my health, I

wanted to be able to live life to the fullest and be around for my husband and

family for many years to come. I know that the MGB isn’t the only thing that

will help me gain back my health, but that I need to follow the recommendations

for proper diet and exercise. The MGB is a tool, it is up to me and or you to

decide how to use it to its fullest.

I am only in the early stages of being a post-op but if this can help anyone

out there in their MGB journey, please feel free to use it or contact me at

juanitagrn@... with any questions or concerns.

Blessings to you!

ita in OK